January 2008 
There are 9 blog entries for January 2008.
CALGARY REALTORS® TAKE AFFORDABLE HOUSING SERIOUSLY
On January 18th, 2007 Calgary REALTORS® saw their efforts come to fruition with the completion of the 60 unit affordable housing facility, Crestwood, open and ready for move-in. This project, located in the Milligan-Ogden area, has been in the works since 2005, with the Calgary Real Estate Board’s Charitable Foundation partnering with the City of Calgary to raise funds. The CREB® Charitable Foundation raised over 1.6 Million toward the project.
Why did Calgary REALTORS® step forward? Because REALTORS® care about this city, the working poor population, and the community at large. REALTORS® meet their clients and get to know them on a very personal level. It isn’t just about getting a listing, signing a contract, and exchanging keys on possession day.…
Calgary house prices to inch toward $500,000
"Two thousand and eight will be a good year and a year of opportunity for serious buyers and sellers," said Calgary's newly elected, real estate board president Ed Jensen. "Seeing a solid Alberta economy, strong employment, predictions of movements to past levels of net migration, I see the Calgary market moving closer to normal market conditions -- as normal as Calgary can be."
The average sale price of a single-family home in the city will flirt with the half-million-dollar mark this year, according to the Calgary Real Estate Board. Jensen said the MLS average will increase by five per cent this year to $495,800 while condominium prices will rise by six per cent to an estimated average of $335,300. Total sales will dip by five per cent for both…
Calgary Real Estate & The US Housing Market
It seems there could be an exchange of property buying going on across the Canadian border. On the one hand Canadians are buying over the border in USA, and on the other hand Americans are opting to buy in the stronger Canadian realty market.
Although contradictory, both scenarios can make sound financial sense, depending on which logical trail you are following. According to American Dollar Index figures, the American dollar has dropped to its lowest rating since the Index started in the seventies. In the Index, the dollar is rated against six international currencies. There is speculation that this falling dollar may still continue downwards, causing some Americans to choose to hedge their bets and change some of their green back dollars into…
Another Good Year Ahead!
The Calgary Real Estate Board’s Annual Forecast Conference and Tradeshow was held on Wednesday, January 16, at the Round-Up Centre with an exceptional attendance of 1,700 people.Ed Jensen spoke to the crowd about the Value of a Calgary REALTOR® and ended with his forecast for 2008.
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What should we expect in 2008? The following provides some highlights of the 2008 forecast:
Listings in towns surrounding Calgary are expected to drop by 5 per cent over 2007, with an extimated total of 8,600. Sales in the same category will be 5 per cent lower than 2007, with an estimated sales number of 5,000. The average price of homes in the bedroom communities is expected to rise by 5 per cent to approximately $396,000.
Calgary’s condo market…
Calgary’s Housing Starts Falling
This is almost a given following the performance of Calgary’s housing resale market. In 2007 builders have started to build 21% less homes compared to a record breaking year of 2006. According to CMHC the annual total for housing starts in Calgary was 13,505 units compared to 17,046 a year ago.
The primary decline took place in the single-family market where starts have dropped as much as 25.8%. The multi-family market hasn’t declined so much, it only dropped about 12.7% compared to 2006.
Is a sign to be worried about? In my opinion if the big player who are building the multi-family buildings aren’t worried about the future of Calgary’s real estate, why should I be concerned? I would sure hope that when several dozen investors decided to build…
Positivity Pays!
The way you greet and interact with the people who come to view your home - however minimal - could make or break the possibility of an offer. If your prospective buyer is a hesitant or indecisive person, your approach could be critical.
That is because attitude is powerful! Optimism is catching! Have you ever gone out in a great frame of mind, and come back feeling awful? That is probably because you met someone who was inundated with problems, who regaled you with their complaints, who told you that your solutions were 'hopeless' and who completely sucked all your positive energy out of you!
When your prospective buyer comes, you want him to enter your home with an open, positive mind and leave with the same feeling. This is where home staging has…
What is Title Insurance?
Title insurance did not appear in Canada until the early 1990s. Title insurance may protect the insurer for certain known defects and real estate fraud, and quicken the closing rocess by allowing transactions to close without confirmation of registration of the new ownership and mortgage. It also provides assurance that any improvements on the land comply with applicable zoning bylaws and that there are no encroachments on the lands or on adjoining lands. If there are encroachments, the insurance company may cover the cost of their removal or compliance measures.
Joe Samson, a Calgary REALTOR ® who has been helping clients to achieve their goals in the Calgary real estate market for many years now. Please visit some of his other web pages such as…
Building Location Certificate?
Question: When I moved into my house 25 years ago, I received a Building Location Certificate. How is this different from the survey my neighbour just got?
Reply: A Building Location Certificate was a type of survey performed by land surveyors for mortgage purposes until 1987. It was prepared for different purposes and to different standards than applicable today. Typically, a Building Location Certificate would include a
note stating, “This plan is for the protection of the mortgage only and is not to be used for the location of property lines.”
The real property report (RPR) replaced the Building Location Certificate in 1987. The RPR was created in consultation with many organizations, including REALTORS®, lawyers and government. The RPR has a…
How is Calgary Real Estate going to perform in 2008?
No one is really arguing that the boom in Calgary has tapered off in 2007. Okay, the medium price of a single family house has actually dropped about $32,523 from the peak in June. But why did it happen and what can we expect to see in 2008.
The best way to predict the future is by examining what happened in 2007. A lot of self declared real estate experts are now crying wolf that real estate in Calgary is done and finished. Two main reasons why they are saying this is due to the famous Royalty review of the Stelmach government and a more factual reason would be the 7.3% drop of real estate prices in the second half of 2007.
Let’s look at the situation from an optimistic point of view as well. Calgary’s real estate prices have increased by 10.54%…
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All information provided is deemed reliable but is not guaranteed accurate, and should be independently verified.
Disclaimer: Information herein deemed reliable but not guaranteed by the CREB and EREB.
Last updated on: 2012-02-10 00:18:44
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- As first-time home buyers, we were pretty much overwhelmed by the whole process. Joe walked us through everything step by step and made the whole experience very positive and smooth. He was always available at our convenience, there was no time of the day he wouldn't meet with us. Joe was very attentive to our needs, very patient and helped us choose the right house we are so pleased with now. His professionalism and knowledge of the market are very impressive and make him the best agent out there. We would recommend Joe to anyone, and we will definitely use his services in the future when we are ready to upgrade. Thank you Joe for all the hard work.
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